178 JBORTY- FIFTH REPORT ON THE STATE MUSEUM. 



increase and injuries as observed by him, in the city of Brooklyn, 

 N. Y.: 



The Pulvinaria innumerabilis is not only destroying all of the soft 

 maples, Acer rubrum, and white or silver-leaved maple, Acer dasy- 

 carpum, in the city of Brooklyn, but it has also invaded the gardens 



and is rapidly destroy- 

 ing the grapevines, 

 and the Japan ivy, 

 Ampelopsis Vetchii, 

 which covers the 

 brick walls of many 

 fine residences and 

 churches. On the 

 latter the pest has a 

 most excellent retreat 

 and shelter, and can 

 not be dislodged by 

 ordinary remedies. 

 There are already 

 many thousands of 

 trees dying from the 

 attack of this sucking 

 pest, and the city is 

 doing nothing to 

 check it. A few 

 thousands of dollars 

 properly expended a 

 few years ago might 

 have saved the trees, 



Fig. 30.— The maple-tree scale insect, Pulvinaria innumerabilis. -i. rio , v . rnillirm nf 



dollars would not replace the damaged trees. I have written several 

 articles calling the attention of the residents of Brooklyn to this pest, 

 and made one report to the Board of Parks (by request) on the same, 

 but the owners of fine shade trees groan over their loss but make no 

 practical effort to repair it. 



The future entomologist is likely to have quite as much to do as 

 those of the present day, and it is to be hoped that his labors will be 

 more highly appreciated. 



The scale of the insect with the large, white, cottony mass thrown 

 out from beneath it for the protection of the eggs and the newly- 

 hatched young is represented in Figure 30. 



Mr. E. P. Van Duzee, of Buffalo, N. Y., in a letter dated February 

 28th, 1891, has written of the large numbers of this insect observed by 

 him, after the falling of the leaves the preceding autumn, on the 

 maples planted as shade trees along the streets of Buffalo. He was 

 apprehensive that, in their increase, they would prove to be a great 

 scourge the following summer. 



